Chicago-area teachers who routinely shell out their own cash for classroom supplies could see a slightly bigger federal tax break this year, but there is a catch. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, some educators will need to wade through extra paperwork, and those who stick with the standard deduction may find the new rules do nothing for them at all.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the law nudges the federal educator deduction up to $350 for single filers and $700 for married couples when both spouses qualify. Any classroom costs beyond that now move to Schedule A, so only taxpayers who itemize can write off the extra amount. The act also widens the definition of an eligible educator to include coaches and interscholastic sports administrators and broadens qualifying expenses to cover anything done “as part of instructional activity,” as the legislation puts it. The Joint Committee on Taxation expects the change to trim federal tax collections by about $200 million through 2034, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Who Gains, Who Loses
Tax professionals say the real winners are teachers who already itemize, often homeowners or higher-paid educators, since itemizers can now deduct qualifying classroom spending without a dollar cap on Schedule A. “If you do not itemize, you get no [extra] deduction at all,” Mark Gallegos, a tax partner at Porte Brown, told the Chicago Sun-Times. Florida attorney David Weisselberger cautioned that lower-income educators who once leaned on the old miscellaneous deduction may come out behind now that this write-off has disappeared.
How Illinois Teachers Are Affected
Illinois educators at least get a little extra help at the state level. The K-12 Instructional Materials and Supplies credit offers up to a $500 state tax credit per eligible educator, or up to $1,000 for married couples filing jointly when both qualify, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue. Even so, those credits and deductions barely keep up with what teachers actually spend. A national survey from AdoptAClassroom found that teachers spent an average of $895 out of pocket in the 2024–25 school year, and its state breakdown shows Illinois teachers landing around $890. That gap makes the choice to itemize, or not, a very real budget decision for local educators.
What Teachers Should Do Before Filing
For anyone in the classroom, the homework now starts well before tax season. Teachers are urged to hang on to receipts, note the dates and purposes of each classroom purchase, and run the numbers before filing. A teacher who spent $1,400, for instance, could still claim the $350 above-the-line educator deduction, then put the remaining $1,050 on Schedule A if they itemize. The IRS details the timing and other individual tax changes in its summary of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and tax-preparation groups say it is worth checking with a professional to see whether itemizing works for a particular household. For Illinois taxpayers, the Department of Revenue website explains the state credit rules and lists where to find filing assistance.
For Chicago educators juggling lesson plans, supply lists, and now more complex tax rules, this new setup lands as a mixed bag. Bigger write-offs are there for some, but many teachers will only see the benefit if they beef up their recordkeeping and are willing to tackle Schedule A along with everything else on their plates.
